Down the stairs of 221B
by Guinevere81
Summary: Following a prompt on the kink meme I wrote a short story about John taking a tumble down the stairs and Sherlock trying to help.


In response to the following prompt on the kinkmeme: I need a fic where John is shopping, and its cold and rain is pouring down. So, we all know that his shoulder injury is *real* right? Well that shoulder seizes up on him, the bags drop and he slips and falls down the stairs. Major h/c!

The rain was pouring down as he made his way home soaking him to the bone. With shopping bags in both hands there was no way he would have been able to hold an umbrella even if he had brought one which incidentally he hadn't. It seemed impossible to John that anyone could get this wet on the short walk from the Tesco at Baker street station to their flat but apparently it was not hard at all when the rain came down as heavily as if it was trying to imitate a shower head.

John pushed through the door to 221B with a frustrated groan. His hands were freezing where he clutched the full shopping bags. He had not expected it to be quite as cold as it had turned out to be and the rain was making the cold all the more apparent.

The muscles in his shoulder were spasming painfully and he pushed up the stairs wanting to get rid of the weight of the shopping bags as fast as possible.

He was almost at the top of the stairs grumbling at his flatmate to come and help him when his shoulder twitched fiercely and he found his hand going numb the contents of the tesco bag scattering down the steps.

He tried to grab at the falling items but only succeeded in stepping on the sodden plastic bag and suddenly his feet were no longer under him and he slammed hard into the stairs trying in vain to stop his tumbling flight down the stairs.

He was lucky that their staircase was divided into two sections as the middle landing effectively broke his fall and he slammed into the wall with a dull crack and heard himself cry out.

"John, what happened?" A voice came from above as John lay absolutely still on the landing trying to catch his breath. His body refused to respond to the signals he was sending out and for a fleeting second he felt panic surge up before adrenaline kicked in and his breath returned in painful clarity.

Sherlock appeared next to him crouching down with a frown on his face. "John look at me, tell me what hurts" he ordered as he ran gentle hands over John's face and neck. John blinked up at him moving hesitantly to assess the damage. He hissed in pain as Sherlock brushed across the side of his head where he had smacked it against the stair.

Mrs Hudson chose that moment to appear from her flat and she looked thoroughly alarmed at the mess of scattered groceries and the two men on the landing. "Oh dear, what happened?" she sounded worried as she made her way up the stairs to crouch next to them.

"I fell, stupid I know. I'm fine" John filled in as he moved to get back up and then cried out and fell back to the floor. Sherlock caught him as he fell while Mrs Hudson clasped her hands over her face letting out a small cry of her own. "Oh poor dear, you're not fine. Sherlock you should take him to the emergency room." She said but John only shook his head. "I've just twisted my knee, it's not broken, I just need some ice on it and a rest" he assured her with a small smile.

Sherlock wrapped an arm around John's back and lifted him to his feet taking most of his weight as they progressed up the stairs this time making it without further accidents. John was limping and leaning heavily against Sherlock but he refused to give voice to the pain that coursed through him like electricity. The pressure of Sherlock's arm against his back made him painfully aware of where it had slammed against the steps and it fought with the burning pain in his twisted knee to get his attention.

Sherlock gently lowered him into his chair and went to get the first aid kit. With their tendency to get into scrapes of all kinds and with the added bonus of John being a doctor they were luckily well stocked in that department. He came back and settled in front of John while Mrs Hudson hovered beside him looking unhappy at her own inactivity.

"I'll put the kettle on, and get those groceries for you" she offered as Sherlock began to unbutton John's shirt to get a look at his back. John's discomfort at his touch had not gone unnoticed and used to the impossibility of getting anything past Sherlock John allowed himself to be undressed by his flatmate.

"Lean forward" Sherlock instructed and John did as he was told. Sherlock's hands were surprisingly gentle as they ghosted over John's tender back. "We should try to prevent swelling, I'll get some icepacks and you can lie down with them" John nodded silently focusing on keeping his breathing even and controlled.

While Sherlock retrieved and activated the ice packs John gingerly slipped his Jeans off revealing his throbbing knee. It was beginning to swell and bruise, and for a fleeting moment John wondered if he had underestimated the injury, maybe he did need help after all. But no, he hated the idea of going to the A&E. He really just wanted to go to sleep. It was just a bad sprain, some ice and a lot of rest would sort him out.

He slumped back in the chair pressing the ice pack to his throbbing knee as Sherlock carefully cleaned the abrasion on the side of his head, covering it gently. He then rose and looked down at John. "Come on, you can lie down on my bed, I'm not dragging you all the way up another flight of stairs" Sherlock said as he snaked an arm under John's armpits and hauled him to his feet.

John swayed slightly clutching at Sherlock to keep himself steady as he tried to balance on one leg, he forced himself to suppress a whimper but it did not escape Sherlock who sighed in frustration. "Oh for goodness sake." He muttered and in one swift motion he swept John up in his arms making the smaller man hiss with a combination of pain and anger at being manhandled.

In a few swift steps they were through the corridor and the door to Sherlock's room and he gently set John down on the bed and then pushed at him to make him turn over. John complied and Sherlock carefully placed a bag of frozen peas under his knee and the three ice packs that they currently owned along his back.

John was absolutely freezing, he had been cold to start with and now he was in his boxers with ice covering his damp skin and he could not help but shiver.

"I'm sorry it's cold" Sherlock apologised as he bent down and pulled a throw over John to cover him. "I'll get some of that tea from Mrs Hudson and then I'll be back" he promised and left the room just as John's teeth began to chatter in a frustrating manner that he didn't seem able to stop.

Sherlock returned ten minutes later to find his friend shivering terribly, his teeth rattling against each other in a way that drowned out the sound of the rain from outside the window.

Sherlock placed the two cups of tea he had been carrying on the nightstand and sat down on the bed with a concerned look in his eyes. He had a dilemma. He needed to keep ice on the wounds to prevent swelling but he needed to heat John up so he didn't get hypothermia… or ok that was probably pushing it but at least he'd be really unwell and maybe catch cold as a result. The two seemed mutually exclusive at the moment and for once Sherlock honestly did not know what to do. He placed a hand gently on John's cold neck rubbing carefully and John let out a strangled moan.

"I can't do this, it's too cold" John shivered again and shrugged off the ice pack. He seemed less troubled by his injuries and more by the cold so Sherlock decided that he would relent on the ice packs and deal with the cold instead.

"Okay, get under the covers." Sherlock ordered and removed the ice packs dropping them at the foot of the bed along with the peas. On second thought he picked the peas up again and put them back in the freezer on his way to search for Mrs Hudson and a hot water bottle.

As always Mrs. Hudson was helpful when it came to domestic issues and he returned twelve minutes later with an old hot water bottle filled with warm water and wrapped in a towel.

John was breathing shallowly, his teeth still rattling and his hands clutching at the pillow under his head.

'Here.' Sherlock offered and handed him the hot water bottle which he clutched to his stomach with a satisfied sigh.

'How are you feeling?' Sherlock asked sitting down next to his friend on the bed.

'Cold, sore, but mostly embarrassed. Falling down the stairs like some little old lady'

John sounded very unhappy and Sherlock couldn't help but shake his head slightly placing a hand on the shape of his friend under the duvet. 'Anyone can fall down the stairs John, it was just an accident' he said softly.

'Bet you never did.' John mumbled making Sherlock smile.

'I did actually, I was ten and chasing our dog, broke my arm doing it, mummy was in a terrible state over it'

This made John chuckle, wincing slightly as it hurt his back. 'Nice to know you're human'

Sherlock nodded at this and stood to leave. 'Rest John, I'll be back in a bit to check on you'

'You don't have to, I'm fine' John reassured him.

'I know I don't have to, but it's the human thing to do isn't it?' Sherlock said and closed the door behind him as he disappeared out of the bedroom.


End file.
